Summer Cruise 2011 - Part II Wildlife

Wildlife: We were so blessed on this trip.  We saw a Minke whale twice (obviously the same one!), and on another occasion 3 Orca whales quietly passing by. Of course, I have no photos as the time was short and we just wanted to enjoy them.

Here are some shots that I did take ...

Oystercatchers:

Quite a few White Swans, lots of Gannets diving and of course Seagulls.  We take them for granted so I include a photo!

My personal favourite are Puffins.  We motored very slowly through Puffin Central in the Shiant Islands just off the east coast of Lewis.  It was awesome:

Seals are all over the place. They are hard to see against the rocks!

I forgot to add this shot from our last trip; 2 sea eagles!

These guys are not wild, but they looked so nice in the basket; all ready to go to work on Eigg (notice the shepherd's crook in the sleeve):

AND Dolphins.  At one point between East Loch Tarbert, Harris and North Harbour,  Scalpay we were virtually surrounded, and they stayed with us for nearly half an hour.  

Unfortunately, YouTube won't upload my best video and I apologize in advance for all the shaking - but it was very exciting!